Word: atari
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...knows, the television networks sold almighty quantities of advertising time to the makers of home video games. During the pre-Christmas buying frenzy, George Plimpton and that anonymous smug kid argued between halves of everything except the disarmament talks over whether the viewer should spend his last dollar on Atari or Intellivision. The commercial blitz paid off for all of the home console manufacturers. Mattel shipped more than 600,000 Intellivision units, a 300% rise from 1980. And Atari's Chairman, Raymond E. Kassar, said sales were "a magnitude beyond" earlier figures. Said he: "We all go to bed dreaming...
...that plug into them range from fairly good to fairly disappointing. None is within a light-year of the best arcade games in color, sound or action. Manufacturers seem to be aware of these shortcomings; add-on voice simulators and cartridges to work them are on the way, and Atari promises a $349 unit that will give its console powerful additional circuitry...
Much of the growth is expected in programs that are self-explanatory and simple to use. At present, complexity and cumbersomeness bedevil the software industry, creating an obstacle to even greater acceptance of microcomputers. Says Raymond Kassar, chairman of Atari: "The key for the industry is to develop software that is understandable. Everybody is saying their software is easy...
...about 200 a minute. And for each pair of dimes you get another generous, nourishing slice of instant cultural history. Most Broadway shows offer a pleasant enough diversion between sunset and bed; Nickleby will become part of your organism, cast a glow for years to come. So sell the Atari, skip a mortgage payment, pawn the children...
...gadget out of the institution and into the study. Once Carter was pictured composing his memoirs on the Lanier "No Problem," authors and others could easily imagine themselves at the console. Spurred by the new availability of word-processing programs for personal computers like Radio Shack, Apple and Atari, demand for home units has risen dramatically. Among the aficionados: Bestseller Luminaries Michael Crichton (Congo) and Alvin Toffler (The Third Wave). Spy-Master Robert Ludlum endorses the Atari system in magazine ads. Though Novelist Irving Wallace still writes on a 1920-vintage portable, he has promised his secretary a processor...